Furnace



Aug. 19, 19241.?

WITNESSES 5 J.F.O.STRATTON FURNACE Filed Sept. 24, 1925 s Sheets-SEW 1 INVENTQR Aug. 19, 1924, 35%,505

J. F. o. STRATTON' FURNACE I 5 Filed Sept. 24. 1923 v v s sheets-sham; 2

'WITNESSESS Lg INVENTOR waam Aug, 19, 19246 J. F. o. STRATTON FURNACE 1923 3 shets-sh'eo 5 Filed Sept. 24.

- INQENTOR wrTNEssEs I Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.- f

"Fume Application filed September-24, 1923. Serial No. 664,376.

To all ivhom it/[nay concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN F. O. STRA'r'roN,-

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sewickley, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Furnaces,

. of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to furnaces, and particularly to a furnace adapted to burn crushed or pulverized fuel.

It is an object of the invention to provide a furnace which is simple and sturdy in construction which will not easily get out of order, which may be readily manipulated, and which is highly eificient in operation.

Special objects are to provide a furnace ofthe character referred to in which sub-- producing constant agitation of the fuel bed,' in whichthe fuel is agitated and erupted whereby to secure complete combustion and separation of the combustible from the non-combustible. portions, and in which the said air supply is preheated before being introduced into fuel to be burned.

It is also a special object to provide a furnace in which" the fire pot proper is fashioned of suitable material and of such form as to readilywithstand the high tempera-- tures to which it issubje'cted, in which the said firepot is surrounded or encircled by a heat exchange chamber through which the air supply passes, in which the said chani ber is constructed in a manner to form. a

nozzle fordirecting the air downwardly therefrOm and through the spaces between the grate bars for removing any ash or clinkers lodged therebetween, and in which .the ash'pit serves as a pressure chamber or compartment for. storin'g'compressed air to be directed in the form of an upward blast through the fuel in the furnace.

, A still further special object is to rovide a. furnace equipped with a plura ity of bodily movable grate sections disposed imintnnate contact with the gpther with means for moving the said grate sections in unison and for selectively adjusting the width of thesaidopen space.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear when takenin conjunction withthe following description and the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view, with parts in elevation, showing the preferred embodiment of the invention; F ig. 2 a horizontal sectional view taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a similar view taken on the line III- III. of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 afragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line IVIV of Figs. 2 and 3; Fig. 5'

a detail perspective view showing the construction of one of the grate bars; and Fig.

--6 an elevational view of a portion of the actuating mechanism for the grate frames. .The main body of the furnace may conform to'any well known. construction in respect to the character of material used, and

comprises the front wall'l, the bridge wall 2, and the top 3. Located at the lower portlon of the furnace and bounded by the walls 4, 5, 6 and 7 is a combined ash pit and airpressure chamber.

The upper portion of the interior of the furnace is lined with any suitable refractory material, preferably in the form of bricks or blocks, such' as indicated at 8, while the lower portion thereof, constituting the fire box proper, is constructed of a plurality of sections such as indicated at 9 and 10', the sections 9 forming the side walls, of the fire box while. the sections 10 form the end walls thereof, the former being-inclined so as to converge-towards the bottom of the fire pot, and the latter lying in substantially vertical planes' Both the sections 9 and 10 are constru'cted of cast iron of such character as to be capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures, and all'of the sections are -,corrugated, as clearly shown in the drawings, for the purpose of maintaining all of the parts in intimate contact while 'at the same timecompens'ati'ng for any variations due to expansion and contraction, all in a well known manner. I,

As. previously noted, the' sections 9 are inclinedso as to converge towards the bottomofthefire pot, but this convergence preferably stops ata point slightly in advance of the extreme'lower extremity of thefire box so as to form a reduced discharge por tion 11 having substantiallyvertical walls .pot is a baffle plate 13 conforming in outline to the exterior surface of the pot. The

spacing of this liaflie in the manner described leaves an open space,between the fire pot and the baflie in the nature of a nozzle, the

' discharge end of which is indicated at 14:.

Although the air chamber and the discharge means for the air therefrom, is preferably constructed, as described, it is to be understood that any form of heat exchange chamher provided with means for discharging fluid therefrom downwardly through therate frames in a manner to be'subsequently escribed in detail is within the contemplated scope of the invention. It is also i noted that the lower extremity of the bafiie .13w terminates slightly above the lower reduced extremity of the fire box so as to permitlateral deflection ofthe discharged air, within certain desiuable limits.-

Extending transversely through the comibinedash pit andair pressure chamber, and

located atsome distance from the bottom -thereof are a plurality of supporting I- beams 15 upon which are mounted a pair 1 offspaced apart tracks 16,16 each of the tracks being in the form of an inverted T- shaped beamsor bar, and these tracks are not only supportedupon 'theI-beams 15 but are held in position by having their oppo site extremities embedded in the walls 4 and-5. Mounted for rolling movement upon the tracks l6vand 16" are a plurality of antifriction members 17,- 17'. anti-friction membersconsists of a pair of peripherally grooved sheaves 18, 18' attached to the opposite ends of a rod or shaft 19.

Cooperating with these anti-friction members and mounted for reciprocating-bodily movement thereupon is a pair of track-ways 20, 20 which are in the form of T -bars with the web portions thereof adapted to engage the peripheral grooves of the sheaves '18 and 18. Attached'in any suit-able way, as by riveting, to the said track-ways are channel sections21, the channel sections in turn having fixedthereto in superposed relation one frame of 'a two-section grate, the

said grate frame being. indicated generally by the reference numeral 22'. The remain ing section of the grate is indicated generally at 22', an\'1 is ccnstructed similarly to within the compartment. shaft 27 is equipped with the terminal Each of these the section 22 with the exception that in-.

stead of being fixedly attached to the trackways 20, 20, it is mounted for bodily re-' ciprocating. rolling movement thereon by means of the supporting wheels 23, the flanges ofsuch wheels embracing the upper portion of the track-ways, 1n the mannerclearly shown in Fig. 4:. The main bodies of nected by the end bars 25, 25, and each frame is equippedwitha plurality of spacedapart grate bars '26, extending throughout the entireextent of the frame. The detailed construction of such grate bars is clearly shown in Fig. 5 of the drawing, being somewhat thicker at their upper portions than at their lower portions and beingequipped with suitable laterally projecting 1ugs 17 adapted for securing the necessary spacing of the bars, all in an obvious fashion. It is noted that the vertical dimension -of-the grate bars, corresponds tothat of the side and end bars 24, 24:, 25 and 2'5,' so that each of the'frames 22 and 22 presents a substantially fiat upper surface throughout its entire extent.

each of the grate frames 22 and 22 are of similar construe; tion,'consisting of the side bars'2t, 24 con-- Each ofthe frames 22 and 22 is disposed immediately below and in close proximity to the lower extremity 11 of the fire boX,-and the dimensions of the frames are such that .portionsthereof extend laterally beyond the fire; box at all times so that the downwardly directed blast of air from the nozzle 14 will pass directly therethrough. H Also extending transversely through the combined ash pit and air pressure compartment, and suitably journalled in the .walls 6 and- 7 is a pair of rock; shafts 27,

.2'7. exteriorwf the furnace, and is equipped One end of-shaft 27 projects to the with a crank arm 28, while similar crank arms 29, v29' are fixed, to the said shaft Likewise, the

crank arm 30 and the intermediate crank arms 31, 31." The crank arms 29 and 29 i are operatively connected by means of the respective links "32' and32 to the lower portion of the grate frame 22', the end of the link 32 heingpivotally attached to a bifurcated lug v.3 8 depending from the grate frame, while. thelink 32" is similarly attached thereto at 33. .The crank 27' are connected respectively to the track ways 20 and20 by means of links such as indicated at 34:. Pivotally attached to the crank arm 30 and extending therefrom is a link 35 the oppositeend of which is pivoarms31 and-31 fixed to the rock shaft tally attached asat 36' to the face of a worm wheel 37, the pivotal attachment 36 being in the form of an adjustable nut slidinglymounted in a radial slot 38 provided in the Worm Wheel so that the pivot-. al connection may be positioned at a greater or less distance from the center vof said said worm wheel whereby to vary the rocking movement of the rock shaft 27, and in turn vary the reciprocating movement of the grate frame, 22', .In a similar manner, a link 39 is pivotally attached to the crank arm. 28, the'opposite end of which is fixed to'a handle 40 carried by a sec tor 41 fixed to the'link 35 at 42; The handle, 40 is pivotally attached to the-sector at 43 and maybe adjusted to various positions with respect to the sector by means of a bolt A l attached .toi the- -handlejand passing through an arcuate slot 45. By this means the handle 4=0 ma be moved to and lockedin varioiisangulzir positions to vary the relative relations of the links 35 and 39, and in turn the positions of the rock shafts 27, 27, and the grateframes 22, 22, it beingunderst ood that such adjustment effects a moving of the grate frames" a greater or-;1ess distance apart, according to the direction in which;thehandle 40 is moved.

The worm wheel 37 is attached to a stub shaft 46 suitably journalled in a bearing 47, and the said wheel is adapted to be.

driven by means of a worm 48 fixed to a shaft 49 connected to the armature shaft of a suitable motorsuch as shown at 50. It is noted that, all f. the drivi'ngmechanism, as wellv as the adjusting means therefor, provided for rocking'the shafts27, 27 is situated upon. the exterior of the fu rnace and may be located at any convenient point.

The top wall 3 of the furnace is sultably equipped with a hopperffil through which the crushed or pulverized fuel indicated at 52 may be continuously fed in any desirable manner, the details ofcwhich have not been illustrated since the same forms no part of'the present invention. The front wall 1 is also equipped with a feed open.-

. ing 53 the outeropenend; of which is provided with a closure door 54,. this feed opening being provided in case it is desirable to inject fuel into the furnace by hand at any time. Likewise, the wall d forming the front wall of the ash pit is equipped with the clean-out opening 55 provided with the closure-door 56.

In the operation of the furnace, crushed or pulverized .fuel '52 is continuously in- .jected through the. hopper 9r chute 51 in the form of a falling stream such assho'yn at 57, while air is suppliedto the air chamber 12 through the inlet 'conduit 13 in desirable regulated-quantities derived from any suitable source such 'as a blower, compressor, or supply tank.

Upon initially starting the furnace, the fuel may be ignited in any well known fashion such as by the employement of .ative' proportions of the fuel and air be- "ing regulated'to obtain substantially complete combustion in a manner to be presently described.

The air admitted to the pressure chamber 12 passes around the baffle plate 13 and through'the nozzle opening 14 in di-' .rect intimate contact with the exterior surfaceof the fire pot and is directed downwardly inthe form of a jet encircling the lower reduced extremity 11 of the fire box. The air blast. directed from the nozzle 14 passes downwardly through the openings between the grate bars 26 ,anddislodges any ash or rlinkers which may be lodged between the said bars. During the passage of theair around the fire box and through the grate bars, the same acts as acooling medium to reduce the temperature of the fire box and the grateframes and renders the air. in a pre-heat'ed condition. The air thus discharged passes directly within the entire space forming the combined ash pit and air pressure chamber, previously noted and there absorbs heat from the residue of combustion discharged the space 58 is forced through the collected mas's.-of-fuel in the lower portion of the fire bo'x resting upon the grate bars, and not only agitates the said fuel mass but effects ,aneruptive action thereon producing ageyser effect in whichthe lighter and smaller portions of the fuel are thrown upwardly lllllO the combustive zone of the furnace.

Thle u wardly directedblast of air thus not on y the particles of fuel, but is brought into intimate contact therewith under such conditions as to secure, the most favorable combustive result..

-During suclractiom'the grate frames. 22

and 22I are continuously reciprocated back and forth in,.iunison' due to their mechanical connectionwith the rock shafts 27, 27 Reciprocation of theframes constantly brings the passa e 58 below'successively'new portions of t e. fu'el bed, causing the geyser effectto reach all. portions of the fuel bed. In addition to the a itation of the fuel by means of the upwardly directed airblast, of

the bodily reciprocation of the grate sections notions to disrupt, agitate, and lift combustible portionsas well as the partially consumed particles'thereof are lighter than,

the non-combustible parts they will be forced into the combustion zone while the noncombustible portions'in the form of ash'and clinkers will gradually collect in the lower portion of the fire box upon the grate frames to' be ultimately ejected therefrom into the ash pit under the influence of the downwardly directed air blast from the nozzle 14:.

The segregation of the non-combustible pqrtions in the lower portion of; the furnace and the transference of the combustible por- 4 tions thereabove is also enhanced due to the constant agitation of the fuel bedzbymeans of the reciprocation of the 'frames. It is particularly-pointed out that" as the par tially consumed particles work their way towards the lower portionof the fire box,

and become artially Volatilized, they are lifted under-"t e influence of the upward air blast, the heavier'non-combu'stible portions again falling downwardlytoward's the grate bars, this cycle of operations being repeated until the combustible portions have been entirely consumed and the non-combustible portions segregated therefrom and discharged into the ash pit, The inert noncombustible matter being of greater specific gravity than the incandescent partially volatilized matter, such inert matterwill fall chamber 12 and withintheair pressure com-' into the ash'- pit' against the stream of air passing upwardly through the opening 58.

' The pressureof the air within the air partment may --,be regulated by any well known means, such as by varying the speed of operation of the blower-or by the interposition of suitable controlling valves. The

quantity of air permitted to pass from the air pressure compartment into the furnace,

however, is governed by regulating the width.

of the passage 58 between the grate frames,

the width of this passage being the setting of the handle as.

regulating the proportions of the fuel and air admitted, substantially complete combusoverned by tion of all combustible portions of-the fuel may be accomplished.

The fluid admitted throughthe'inlet conduitv13 has been referred to as air, but it is ollvious that any fluid for Supporting oxidatidn of the fuel may be used in the same manner and with a similar result. It" is "also pointed out that the cooling of. the firebox and grate bars, and the cleaning action due to the downward discharge of the fluid from 13y properly pot.

the nozzle 14:, although preferably carried out as described; may be accomplished by any desirable heat exchange medium, and

the medium for supporting oxidation may be supplied toithe combined ash pit and pressure compartment from an'independent source. a

' It is thus seen that the invention provides a furnace in which crushed or pulverized fuel may beburnedwith' substantially complete combustion, in which the cooling medium for the fire box also acts as a coolin and cleaning means for the grates as well as an agitating medium for the fuel mass upon the grates, in which the air blast for supporting combustion produces'an eruptive geyser effect throughout successive portions of the fuel bed, in which the air vfor supporting combustion is preheated before being broughtinto intimate contact withthe'fue-l, '1n 'wh1ch the necessary proportions of air for supporting combustion may be regulated by adjusting the width of the space between the sections of the grate, in which the air for supporting combustion coacts with the. bodily reciprocating grates "to maintain the fuel mass upon the grate bars in a mobile: condition, and in whichthe actuating and adjusting mechanism for-the grates is disposed at a convenient point at theexterior of the "furnace.

I claim: v 1. A furnace comprising a fire pot having anvopening in the bottom thereof, an air pressure compartment therebelow, a bodily movable grate interposed betWeenthe said firepot and compartment, said grate being composed of a plurality of independently 'movable spaced apart sections, and means for moving sa1d grate sections n unisonwhereby to" vary the position of the space therebetween transversely of the fire pot.

2. A furnace comprising a fire pot having an opening in the bottom thereof, an air pressurecompa'rtment therebelow, a bodily movable grate interposed between the said fire pot and compartment, said grate being composedof a plurality of independent sections positioned relatively: to each other whereby to, leave a space therebetween,

means for moving said grate sections in unison,'a'nd means for adjusting the width of the space between said sections.

'81 A furnace comprising a fire pot having an open bottom, an air ressure compartment therebelovv, and a urality of spacedapart grate framesfinterposed between the said bottomand'compartment, the space be:

tween the said frames" serving 'as'a noz-- zle for directing an air blast of predetermined area upwardly through the fire box, a and means for bodilymovin the said frames to shift said blast area laterally of the fire 4. A furnace comprising a combined ash finin a warddy through the said space into the fire box, and means for reciprocating the said frames to move the air blast area transversely to and fro beneath the fire box.

5. A furnace comprising a combined ash pit and air pressure compartment, a fire box having an open bottom projecting downwardly through. the top of said compartment, a pair of spaced apart reciprocating grate frames disposed immediately below and in close proximity to the lower extremity of the fire box, the space between the said frames serving as a blast nozzle for directing air upwardly through the fire box, means for bodily reciprocating the said frames in unison, and means for adjusting the relative positions of the, frames to vary the width of the space therebetween.

6. A furnace comprising a combined ash pit and air pressure compartment, a fire box having an open bottom projecting downwardly through the top of said compartment, an air chamber adjacent the fire box, said chamber being provided with a discharge opening, a bodily movable grate interposed between the said firebox and compartment and projecting beyond the sides of the fire box, the air from the said discharge opening being directed downwardly through the laterallyprojecting portions of the said grate.

7. A furnace comprising avcombined ash pit and air pressure compartment, a fire box having an open bottom projecting downwardly through the top of said compartment, an air chamberimmediately surrounding the fire box and provided with a bafiie plate spaced from the exterior of the fire box to provide a downwardly directed nozo zle, a pair of spaced a art reciprocating grate frames, disposed below the lower ex tremity of the fire box and projectin laterally therebeyond whereby the air disc arged from the said nozzle will pass through the said frames, and means for reciprocating the said frames. 1

8. A furnace comprising a combined ash pit and air pressure compartment, a fire box aving an' open bottom projecting downwardly through the top of said compartment, an air chamber immediately surrounding the fire box and provided with a bafiie plate spaced from the exterior of the fire box to provide a downwardly directed nozzle, a pair of spaced apart reciprocating grate frames,disposed 'below.the lower ex tremity of the fire box and projecting laterlast nozzle for directing air up--- ally therebeyond whereby the air discharged from the said nozzle will pass through the said frames, means for reciprocating the said. frames, and means upon the exterior of the furnace for adjusting the width of the space between the frames.

9. A furnace comprising a combined ash pit and air pressure compartment, a fire box having an open bottom projecting downwardly through the top of said compartment, a bodily movable track-way mounted for reciprocation in the said compartment,

a grate frame fixed to the said track-way,

a second grate frame supported for bodily reciprocating movement upon the said trackway and spaced from the said first-named.

grate frame, both said'frames being disposed immediately below the fire box, and means for bodily reciprocating both said frames in unison.

I0. A furnace comprising a combined ash pit and air pressure compartment, a-fire box having an open bottom projecting downwardly through the top of said compartment, a bodily movable track-way mounted for reciprocation in the said compartment,

a grate frame fixed to the said track-wa a second grate frame supported forbodi y reciprocating movement upon the said track-- way and spaced from the said first-named grate frame, both said frames being disposed immediately below the fire box, and means for bodily reciprocating both said frames in unison, said means includin means for selectively adjusting the widtn of the space between the said frames.

11. A furnace comprising a fire pot hav-.

ing an opening in the bottom thereof, an

air pressure compartment therebelow, fuel supporting means interposed between the fire pot and the said compartment, said fuel supporting means being composed of independently movable separated sections wherey to provide an upwardly directed blast between the sections, and means for actuatin the said sections to move the position if tie said blast transversely of the fire ot. P 12. In combination in a furnace, a fire pot, means for supporting fuel in said 'fire pot, means for creating an upwardly directed blast of sufficient force to erupt fuel carried on said fuel supporting means, means for confining said blast to a predetermined area less than the cross-sectional area of the fire pot, and means for moving the last-named means transversely of the fire pot whereby to shift the region of said blast, said.blast confining means being constantly positioned below the fire pot.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

JOHN F. O. STRATTON.

' Witness:

Enwm O. J onus. 

